U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of State
 
 

Customer Service Statistics

Passport Services Improves Customer Satisfaction
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Survey

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an internationally accepted measure of customer satisfaction used in over 20 countries. Employing a common methodology, and a database of information from over 600,000 customer interviews, this uniform, cross-industry quarterly index of private sector customer satisfaction is the “gold standard" measure for Federal Government Agencies.

In 2003 ACSI measured the satisfaction of adults, who received a passport in the past two years. Passport Services achieved a score of 75 (on a 0 – 100 scale). This score is almost 5 points higher than the 2003 aggregate Federal Government ACSI score of 70.2 and 2.2 points higher than the private sector/services score of 72.8. Survey results for all participating Federal Agencies, including trends in performance and customer satisfaction became available on December 15, 2003.

The detailed ACSI report for Passport Services, produced by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan, states that the Passport Application Process component is the major driver of customer perception of quality and satisfaction. This component, which measures customers’ perceptions of timeliness, professionalism, and convenience, was awarded a high score of 80 (on a 0 – 100 scale). In addition, the score for another major driver of satisfaction, Customer Expectations, indicated, “Passport Services delivers quality that surpasses customers’ expectations."

Ann Barrett, Managing Director of Passport Services, notes that efficiency goes hand-in-hand with customer satisfaction. “If you don’t give good customer service, it becomes more costly, you spend much more in resources answering complaints, defending decisions, and dealing with problems that could have been avoided."

Passport Services not only sees its high scores as a validation of over 10 years of customer service focus, but as a way to move ahead. “We can use the ACSI to test the response to future initiatives and public relations campaigns and help us in providing the right balance between customer service and security, so that all Americans can enjoy their right to travel," says Barrett.

For more information about the ACSI and the government scores, please visit www.customerservice.gov or www.fcg.gov

Excerpts from an article by Ted Kniker for State Magazine.